Amounts raised through biopharma financings in the second quarter are down by 61% since last year and are at the lowest point since 2017. The same holds true when looking at the first half of the year. Each of the prior four years raised more than this year by the end of June, signifying that investors are backing up after an intensely robust financing environment following the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the feverish biopharma therapeutic and vaccine development that began in 2020.

Biopharma deals during the second quarter of 2022 fell short of each of the last two years with 379 completed deals valued at $36.9 billion, but the year is still the strongest to date. Thanks to the record-breaking first quarter, deals in the first half of this year are ahead of all other years, reaching a total value of $93.8 billion, 6.5% more than 2020, the next highest first half.

With vaccines now authorized for children as young as six months, omicron boosters in development for the fall, and the nation’s first protein subunit vaccine for COVID-19 pending authorization, the U.S. appears to be well on its way to exiting the turmoil caused by the deadly SARS-CoV-2 virus. Globally, there is reason for optimism as well.

Clinical data readouts in 2022 have fallen by 14.8% in comparison with the same timeframe last year, and more than half of all reports are for drugs and biologics targeting three major therapeutic areas. In the first six months of the year, there have been 1,707 clinical entries, compared with 2,004 last year.

Nonprofit deals with biopharma companies in 2022 indicate that 92% of the disclosed funds are going toward infectious disease therapies, with COVID-19 accounting for 79% of the total.

Nonprofit deals with biopharma companies in 2022 indicate that 92% of the disclosed funds are going toward infectious disease therapies, with COVID-19 accounting for 79% of the total.

While BioWorld’s Biopharmaceutical Index remains down slightly from the end of last year, recent gains by several companies suggest the industry may be beginning to bounce back.

While Pfizer Inc. remains active with mergers and acquisitions, Sanofi SA and Bristol Myers Squibb Co. are major players in the top six biopharma deals of 2022. So far this year, the industry has announced 769 deals, including licensings, joint ventures and collaborations, valued at $88.9 billion.

In sharp contrast with its up and down rhythm of 2021, the BioWorld Infectious Disease Index (BIDI) is mostly down this year, having fallen 63.4% to date. The index ended last year up by 10.4%, which was its lowest point. In 2020, when the SARS-CoV-2 infection became a global focus, BIDI was up by 144%.

Venture capital remains the primary driver of biopharma financings in 2022, accounting for 48.7% of all financings for the year. That is dramatically more than 2021 when 31% of the money raised by this point came through VC rounds. In 2020, the amount was only 18%.